Elmira hopes to return to the ECHL playoffs under new head coach David Leger.

Expect the Elmira Jackals to move up and down the ice at a brisk pace this season, no matter who is in the lineup.

"I want us to be relentless, to be able to create turnovers as much as we can," first-year head coach David Leger said Wednesday morning following practice at First Arena. "I think when you look at our team, we've got good speed and we've got some youth. So hopefully we should be able to play with some energy every night."

Following a 3-0 preseason, Elmira gets the regular season started at 7 p.m. Saturday against the Reading Royals at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania. This is the 10th season in the ECHL for the Jackals and their 17th season overall, with the franchise's roots dating back to the now defunct United Hockey League.

Elmira finished last season with a 37-30-3-2 record and missed out on the playoffs by a point. That was the third straight year Elmira fell short of the playoffs after qualifying for the postseason in each of its first six seasons in the ECHL. Forward Mike Radja, who returns to the Jackals after playing for them in 2011-12, said the playoffs are an obvious goal.

"Lineups are going to change throughout the year, but as long as we can get in the playoffs, we'll have some of those guys," he said. "Hopefully a lot of guys from here get called up and we can get them back. But every team's No. 1 goal obviously is to get into the playoffs. Once you get in, anything can happen."

Leger, 48, was named head coach in July, a month after Jamie Russell left the team following two seasons in charge. Leger, a native of Orleans, Ontario, has an extensive coaching history that includes jobs in Canada, Japan, Europe and the United States. Last season he was an assistant coach in the ECHL with the Evansville IceMen.

"I was with Dave for a season in Japan, so I got to know Dave there," Radja said. "He shows up to the rink every day and he's honest with the players. He puts in the work, you can tell. So it makes it easy for us to show up to the rink every day and to put in the work for him. It's kind of a two-way street and I have nothing but respect for Dave and his coaching style."

Radja is also a big fan of the style of play Ledger expects to bring to First Arena over the course of the 72-game regular season. Elmira will play 11 of its first 18 games at home, starting Oct. 21 and 22 with a weekend series against the Norfolk Admirals.

"Me personally, run and gun style is kind of what I like," Radja said. "I like playing aggressive and moving my feet and being able to read plays and make plays. That's encouraged here. We're going to be a team that battles for 60 minutes. No matter the score, we're not going to give up. We're going to be a team that competes. It's going to be a real fun product to watch."

Ready for lineup shuffle

This season will mark the third for the Jackals in their affiliation agreement with the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres and the American Hockey League's Rochester Americans. The chance to move up through the organization is a draw for players who sign with the Jackals, though the downside is the season will include a bunch of player movement.

Leger wants to make sure there's stability regardless of who is in the lineup. Leger played the younger players a lot throughout the preseason, in large part to acclimate them to his system.

"We've been able to orient some young players to the way we want to try and play as a group," he said. "With this league, because of the volume of movement potentially, in and out, we try to just solidify a system. Then as new players come in, we can just have them adapt instead of the other way around. Normally in coaching you customize a system to the team you have. We're going to do it the other way around."

The deadline for ECHL teams to set their opening-day rosters was 3 p.m. Thursday. Elmira's roster underwent some changes at the deadline, including three players joining the team who had been in training camp with Rochester. Additions included goalie John Muse, 28, who was named Most Valuable Player of the Kelly Cup playoffs in 2011-12 with the Florida Everblades. Forwards Matt Zay and Kyle Rankin were returned to the Jackals after AHL tryouts.

Also on Thursday, the Jackals acquired defenseman Cole Martin in a trade with the Fort Wayne Komets for future considerations. Martin, 22, played in 57 games last season with the Admirals. Elmira added defenseman Carl Tremblay to its training camp roster off waivers.

Leger is prepared to see the roster change throughout the season.

"It's a Catch-22," he said. "If you do get off to a good start, you have teams above you circling and potentially pulling your players. I’ve tried to recruit players to come in here with that knowledge that they could get called up. That’s been appealing for a lot of players. We can’t just be hypocritical around that. If it happens, it happens and we're just going to have to adjust.

"Our camp here has been good because we’ve been able to watch and expose ourselves to potential call-up players. Those players have all done a great job. We’ve kept many of our veteran players out of the preseason games. We’ve done that with an eye towards watching what these young fellows are capable of. It may be only a small number of them will stay with us full time, but we’ll keep good, close tabs on guys."

With Elmira's style of play, player/assistant coach Mike Duco said it's imperative everyone is on the same page. Leger attended the Sabres' rookie camp, in part to learn the language used by the parent team so his staff could transfer that vernacular to Elmira's players.

Duco and Leger arrived in Evansville around the same time last season. Luco picked his brain as much as possible and said their working relationship is really good.

"A lot of it comes down to communication. Communication from the coaches if we see something that needs to be tweaked or changed," Duco said. "And communication from the players as well. I’ve been a player for the last nine years and I still have that aspect in me. But we all know from the bench that if you’re communicating to your linemates, it makes the game ten times easier than it would be if no one’s talking out there.

"I think it’s crucial for us to be a fast-paced team that has a lot of guys who communicate out there and just try to outwork people."

Improvement a focus

Elmira's unbeaten preseason provided reason for optimism, albeit with the understanding those victories count little in the grand scheme.

"Obviously you get a little confidence going in, but everyone in here knows those are six points that don’t matter at the end of the day and the real season starts on the 15th," Duco said. "I’ve been in situations where we’ve been undefeated in preseason and then 10 weeks into the season we’re one of the worst teams in the league. You’ve got to continue to pay attention to detail, do all the little things and just really follow the system we have in place. Hopefully on our side as a coaching staff we’ve done our part to make them successful on the ice."

Defense was a strength in the preseason, which saw the Jackals outscore their opponents by a combined 13-3, including wins of 3-1 and 6-0 over Reading. Tyler Parks had 32 saves for Elmira in the 6-0 victory and Dalton McGrath had 14 saves in the 3-1 win.

Leger assembled the roster around guys he felt would work hard every day and put in extra time after practice, with the veterans setting the tone for a culture geared toward constant improvement. With that theme in mind, the goal for the Jackals is to be playing their best hockey as the regular season winds down.

"Every team looks to try and make the playoffs," Leger said. "I would rather a team get a little bit better throughout the season rather than get off to a great start and peter out at the end. My challenge and my focus is to have this group trying to peak towards March.

"It may be we have to invest in some games where there’s mistakes that fall back on us to try and correct. But I would far sooner be a group that gets a little bit better throughout the course of the season. It’s a long season and lots of stuff can happen in short pockets of time. You really want to keep yourself in the now and just get a little bit better every game."